Emery Turned 3!!

I can't believe that he is already 3! It seems like he should still be my baby. But he is growing so fast and such a big boy.

For his birthday this year we just did a small family get together. He requested a Buzz cake that I think turned out pretty darn cute! He absolutely loved it!

He also got a lot of fun presents! He especially loved his Sheriff Woody costume from his cousins. He couldn't wait to put it on!

It was a really fun day and it was good to see that he didn't cry this year when everyone sang to him. I love my little Emery and can't imagine how boring life would be without him! Here are a few of the fun things about my little man.

-he hates to have his pants pulled up high. Every time he gets dressed he reminds you that he doesn't like to wear his pants "like a daddy" and he quickly pulls them down low onto his waist. We're not sure where he came up with the idea that daddy's wear their pants hiked up, but it is pretty funny to hear him say!

-everything is chick-a in his world. So the majority of the time I am chick-a mommy, or Eric is chick-a daddy. He also thinks it is hilarious to call everything (people included) chicken booty. Don't you just love the things they learn from older siblings?

-He loves to be tickled and wrestle with his daddy. He also is the one that won't hug daddy goodbye in the mornings but the minute dad walks in the door he is the one that comes running.

He is definitely our little ham, he loves to make us laugh and he of course loves to be the center of attention. He is spoiled rotten by Ethan and Emily, (especially Emily) who will pretty much do whatever he asks. I am afraid he is going to be traumatized when this new baby comes, and he is no longer the baby. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to her.

So even though this post is almost two months late, Happy Birthday Emery!

The First Day of School

Yes, folks I am slowly catching up. These posts are all really late, but at least they are coming.

August 23 was the first day of school here. I had one really excited kindergartner, one second grader who kept saying he wasn't excited, but couldn't wipe the smile off his face, and one preschooler who didn't start school until the next day so he was sad to see his brother and sister go to school without him. He had his lunch box and backpack all ready to go.

I could not get Emery to show his face. All he wanted to to do was have a picture taken of the lunch box.

Outside the school. If you look closely you can see Ethan doing bunny ears on Emily. I didn't notice that until it was too late to take a new one. He is the typical big brother.

Emily at her locker.

Emily at her desk

Ethan, the big second grader

While the kids were at school some moms got together and made these cute little bus cakes. It turned out great and the kids loved it! It is always good to have a fun treat after school.

On Tuesday (August 24) Emery started preschool. It was bitter sweet for me. I love that I have two days a week where all of them are in school. It is great for running errands and getting things done and will be really nice when I have a new baby. But at the same time he just seems so little. He is my baby (for now anyways). He was so excited though and he loves it so that makes it a little easier.

He is at the age where he is not really into pictures so these are the best I was able to get. It also didn't help that he just wanted to go to school, not have his picture taken.

The other fun part about preschool for Emery is that he gets to go with his friend Charlotte. They are the cutest. She calls him Mimi and he always refers to her as "my Charlotte". I think they love being able to go to school together. Here they are on their first day at school!

So far the school year is going great. They all love it, even Ethan, although he won't admit it. I am definitely enjoying a little bit of me time on Tues. and Thurs. before the baby comes. We are on the countdown now for her arrival, only about 1 month left. I think the kids are excited and I am a little nervous about keeping up with life when I have 3 busy older kids and a newborn. It should be exciting.

10 Years!

This summer (August) we celebrated our 10 year anniversary! It is hard to believe that it really has been 10 years, in some ways I feels like these were just taken yesterday:


Then I look in the mirror and realize 10 years have passed. It has been a great 10 years and I know I couldn't ask for a better person to have shared it with. We have been blessed with so much, the most important being our 3, almost 4, cute kids! I am definitely one lucky lady! After some debate we decided that it would be fun to take a long weekend and go somewhere without the kiddos. Many thanks to family for watching the kids so Eric and I could hit the beach in Cabo San Lucas Mexico! It was fabulous! Our room was so nice and had an awesome view, the food and restaurants were amazing and of course just being there with Eric was the best! We took a nap every day, lounged at the pool and on the beach, went snorkeling, and just enjoyed having no schedule. One of the mornings Eric went and did a zip line thing and I was lucky enough to spend a few hours at the spa getting a facial, mani and pedi.

The view from our balcony

My cute hubby on the beach

Our goofy beach hats!!

It was a much needed and super fun vacation! I can't wait until the day I can do it again. Thanks Eric, for the 10 great years and an unforgettable trip!

Catching Up!

Okay so here I go trying to catch up a little bit. I wish I had an excuse for not staying caught up but I really don't. Just laziness I guess.

So I guess I will start clear back in July with Emery's swim lessons. It was kind of a last minute decision but I decided to stick Emery in swim lesson this year. He was so afraid of the water so really my only goal was to get him more comfortable. I wasn't sure how he would react, but I should have known that Mrs. Carol would work her magic and he would be fine! He still asks if he can go swim with her.

At the end of each lesson she gave them a cookie. I think that was Emery's favorite part!

Swimming through the hoop

Getting the ring from the bottom

Swimming to the steps

Our goal was definitely accomplished. He isn't nearly as afraid of the water. He did learn to swim a little, but mostly he would just kind of float there because he couldn't get down the concept of kicking while his face was in the water. I think next year when he is a little older he will get it and be swimming like a fish!

Because I like to torture myself and be super busy, I had Ethan and Emily signed up for gymnastics camp the same week Emery had swim lessons. Luckily the times worked so we could do swim lessons and then go straight to gymnastics. The kids had so much fun and they even let Emery get out there and do a few things.

Getting their medals

Emery on the bars

At the end they did a little show and they let Emery take a turn. It was way too cute to not share! (hopefully it works)

Swim Lessons

This year we decided to do swim lessons before school got out so the kids were ready to go for the summer. The kids did so good this year! In the past we have done a group lesson which is 30 minutes with a total of 6 kids. This year we decided to do a semi-private lesson with the 2 girls across the street so we got 30 minutes with only 4 kids. You could definitely see the difference in progress with 2 less kids. There are a lot of pictures in this post because I just couldn't leave any out.

Waiting for their turn

Goofing around on the "secret seat" at the deep end

The whole group on the "secret seat"

Jumping in like a pencil

I love how excited and happy she is to be jumping in

Taking a big breath half way across

She made it, with a big smile of course

Ethan going across all by himself

Swimming on their backs

Swimming with "big arms"

I love the confidence they have gained in the water. Yesterday at the pool Emily got a little too far out and couldn't reach the ground. Her initial reaction was to panic, but I calmly reminded her the she could swim so she put her face in the water, started kicking and made it back to the steps all by herself! She was a little scared when she reached the steps but I was so proud of her! I can't wait to see her and Ethan both get better and better as the summer goes on.

Look Out Kindergarten!!

This last Friday was Emily's preschool graduation. It is a pretty big production, which is kind of funny to me but it was still really cute and fun. Also a little sad as I realize my little girl is growing up. I can't believe she is almost 6! Crazy how time flies. Grandma and Grandpa Stevens were able to be here which made it even more special for Emily. So here are a few pictures of our little grad on her special night!

Emily and her teachers! They made everything so fun for the kids this year. Emily loved Miss Meagan and Miss Kristin.

They were nice enough to provide babysitting for kids under 3 so unfortunately Emery wasn't there for the family picture. But here are the rest of us.

Our cute little grad!

Getting her diploma. You can tell they practiced the posing before hand. It was really really funny to watch each kid get up there and pose with their teacher and diploma.

Watching the slide show

Emily's friend Brooke came to see Emily! Emily was so excited to have her there!

Lastly is Emily and her friend Dylan. She informed me the night before graduation that because Dylan was so cute she was going to marry him. I must say she is right, he is a cutie. They will be in different schools next year so I had to get a picture since they probably won't see each other ever again. I don't think Emily has realized that yet.

Although it seemed slightly over the top to make such big deal, I loved it! It was fun to see the kids so happy and excited to sing there songs and show off. I laughed a lot, and cried a little as I watched my cute little girl. I love you Emily and am so proud of you!

As a side note I wanted to mention how excited I am that Eric officially booked our 10 year anniversary trip! Cabo San Lucas here we come!! I can't wait!